Sometimes I have to wonder about my general apathy to dangerous situations. I remember when Benjamin was a baby, I somehow instinctively knew that he was the cautious type, so I never worried about him falling off of tables or other high surfaces...Yeah, I know I'm crazy. Paul also reminded me of my unnatural calmness as I debated whether to use baking powder or baking soda to put out a small kitchen fire this past Thanksgiving.
So we live in Tornado Alley now, and we hear sirens go off pretty frequently. If I were a better person, I'd of course rush my children into the basement each and every time, because you never know! A few months ago, the sirens were going, and I was raking like crazy because I knew that those leaves were going to sit there until Spring if I didn't. And where was my overly-cautious Benjamin? Inside, freaking out because we weren't in the basement.
And here's how things looked here last night around 11 p.m. I had just recently fallen asleep, so the sirens just became part of my loopy reality. Paul watched out the window as the wind whipped through trees then became deathly silent, and as the never-ending flashes of lightning would suddenly turn green, then fall into total blackout. Yeah, even I was a little scared. Not scared enough to do anything about it mind you, but I briefly thought about how it might be wise to get the kids out of bed and head to the basement.
I am a little too relaxed about some things. I am. And I need to fix that, if not for my sake then for my children's well being.
7 comments:
I get kind of that "deer in the headlights" thing sometimes when danger's near. I know how you feel!
I remember watching the sky eerily turn green during a hurricane with you. The maple tree was going crazy. Yeah, we probably should have been more nervous than we were! It was just exciting. :)
You changed your blog header. Why? I'm glad you kept the cannon. It's awesome.
I am also prone to underreacting to dangerous situations. It'll be OK, right? Just after we were married, Aaron and I were backpacking in the mountains and Aaron heard a bear grunting and galloping outside near our. He began madly looking for the airhorn, then trying to honk it while shouting like crazy. I assured him that we'd be fine because we were inside the tent, which not only made him think I was completely crazy, but also made him feel like he had to freak out for both of us. But hey, we really were fine, so I'm still not scared of bears. Which Aaron still thinks is crazy. He's probably right!
I'm the same. Baby gates? who needs them! Sirens? Meh. I also have very cautionary kids - they'll freeze on the sidewalk, if a car passes, just in case they're in the direct route of the car. I wonder if they're cautiousness has made me so blase, or if my lack of danger sense has made them cautious.
What is it about us? I'll admit, Sam wonders occasionally at my curious unconcern for danger at times. He's kind of the safety warden around here, though, so he keeps us alive all right. To me, it's far easier to let someone else stress about things and just relax through the storms...
I love storms, and really, when you hear tornado sirens every month, you get used to them. Although when I was little, we cleared a spot under the stairs for just such occasions, but it was more for fun than for protection!
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